Happy Hallo-wienie!!

Nothing says Halloween like a pack of Wiener dogs dressed like hot dogs! Not that they enjoy this, mind you. I have a Miniature Doxie and have to admit, I've never bought her a hot dog costume. Not that someday it won't happen, hehe. It's that time of year again and I'm sure we'll all get the emails with photos of dogs in funny costumes, stating "why dogs bite people". Always worth a good laugh!

Have a fun, safe Halloween and don't eat too much candy!

-Joy

Never too much!

Before and After

Happy Halloween!

Diandra-Trick or Treat!

One my fondest memories of Halloween growing up wasn't the costume, or the door to door extortion of treats.  It was when my brother and I got our haul back home and began the process of sorting and swapping our loot. 

I remember getting apples and homemade candies, but NEVER being allowed to eat them. The whole razorblades and poison urban legends, ya know?  Of the things we were were allowed to eat my favorites were the tart, chewy candies: Sweet Tarts, Lemon Heads, Jolly Ranchers.

If we did get Milky Ways, KitKats, Snickers and other chocolate bars (100 Grand in particular), it felt like we had hit the mother lode, because back then there were no bite-sized bars. You got the fistfuls of chocolate-all to yourself!

Of course, neither of us ate those disgusting Ike&Mikes, though. What were your favorite Halloween treats?

Priscilla ~ Happy Creepies

Spooky Joy

Here's my illo for this weeks IF topic, "Spooky". Monsters are always fun and usually, they're more scared of you then you are of them. This guy was just minding his own business and didn't even realize it was Halloween night. Poor guy...

Thanks for stopping by!
-Joy

Kelly: Illustration Friday- "Spooky"

YES- Mr. Clown- you are SPOOKY! I hate clowns. Always have. Not funny- not cute- totally completely freaky! -I know I am not alone... kids can be heard screaming and crying at every circus and birthday party all around the world. I don't care how many balloon poodles you make. I don't care how many of you fit in a car. Shoot yourself out of a cannon far, far away from me.

Diandra-Spooky

It's a spooky walk through the woods tonight for Red.

(The Sketchables are participating in Illustration Friday! Check out each of our contributions throughout the week! See what others have created for "Spooky"  here!)

Priscilla ~ Spooky!

The "Joy" of discovery

I didn't have much time to think on our topic this week, but I guess I've got babies on the mind. What could be more fun than a boy and his dog discovering the great outdoors! What could be down there?

Have a wonderful weekend!
-Joy

Kelly - discovering the Final Frontier

A quickie sketch today. I remember the first time I looked through a telescope at the night sky. I discovered how big and vast the night sky is and just how tiny I was.

Diandra- Discovery

This week has not only Christopher Columbus Day, but Leif Erikson Day! So in the spirit of discovery...

  What do you think they see?

Priscilla ~ Happy Columbus Day!

Sketch Interview - Jannie Ho

Thanks for such a fun interview Jannie!

Visit Jannie's website & blog.

Joy- "in and out of weeks..."

One of my favorite books is "WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE" and Maurice Sendak is one of my favorite illustrators. I actually had an idea and made the time to execute it this week. I wanted to created a sort of  "in-between" of the scene where Max is traveling "in and out of weeks..." when he meets up with a sea monster and before he lands on the monsters' shore. I also wanted to play more with depth than Sendak does. You never see this much of a foreground, middle ground or background in the book. I love that element of his story telling and charm in his illustrations. It's very much presented to you in a straight forward manor.

Anywhoo, I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed illustrating it! Thanks for stopping by and for any comments!

-Joy

It's Book Month!! Kelly's - The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde (a lost favorite)

 A few weeks back, my daughter and I stood at the gates of a 300 year old cemetery in Amherst , MA in the dark.  After a dare to go in- I did.... but quickly came out. My daughter was convinced I had become a zombie. I had to prove to her I wasn't and was still Mom by singing all of the words to a song she thinks "Only I would know"- "On The Good Ship Lollipop". I proved I was not Zombie-Mom.
Altho, we were both freaked out- we were also having a great time. The next day we toured a house in town that is unquestionably haunted.  (if you believe in that stuff)

All of this made me think of how much I used to love a good ghost story. From the original black and white Caspar the Friendly Ghost cartoon to that book I had ... hmmm. What was that book?  It took a few days- but I remembered after several googles.. The Canterville Ghost!! - I had a picture book version- I think I inherited it- it had to be from the 50's. I remembered the old black and white movie version starring Charles Laughton as the ghost and Margaret O'Brien as the little girl.
What a great story- of an American little girl, lonely in a big old mansion in England. She encounters the cranky old ghost of the original owner of the manor and finds a way to redeem him so he can finally rest in peace.

What a fabulous thing to illustrate, I thought!! If it could be illustrated in a fun way, it could be a great graphic novel that kids would snap up - rather than a dusty old short story with a picture of Oscar Wilde on the cover. I did find a few contemporary illustrated versions- the best one by Lisbeth Zwerger.
-So I read the original -and it is WAY different. Very dated- in it's 1887 language and pop culture references to the American ways of the day. The plot and characters are more complex; with a whole family- Mother, Father, older brother, "daughter"of 15, and the twins.

Tho - I liked the story I remembered- where the little girl is the main character and hero, I loved the relationship in the original book between the ghost and the twins. Here in lies the humor. Sir Simon-trying so hard to scare this family is in the end beaten down by the twin boys' mischief. They harass him into hiding and defeat.

I thought I'd tackle the cover this week....

 

With my head already in family portrait mode- I drew the kids posing in front of the Tudor mantle w/ Sir Simon's portrait hanging above them. Would he be popping out? Then I thought of the graffiti idea. The twins were going to be directly in the middle- but then I thought that would be where the title would go.  This was just too busy.

Book covers should be bold- graphic- grabbing.

 

What if I just focused on the portrait- and the relationship

the ghost has with those boys.

So I did this color sketch (I got a little carried away -'cuz it was fun. )

I kinda like it - he looks quite annoyed. I am planning

to continue with the story on my blog. I'll do black and white interiors

and a few "color plates". When I was little I read 

old hard covered books like "Ivanhoe" that belonged to my Grandmother -and I loved

turning the page to see the story come alive on 

beautiful full color plates - like finding a treasure in the middle of the pages.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle

I was a big fan of Beverly Cleary in 4th and 5th grade.  But my favorite was the first book that I read from her, The Mouse and the Motorcycle.  Hmm, just something about a little mouse with a taste for danger tickled me then and still today.

Diandra-James and the Giant Peach

We're kicking off Book Month here on The Sketchables by going all out-a full color post for each of us!  Be sure to check back each day this week to see our book-inspired pieces!

My piece is inspired by one of my favorite Dahl books, James and the Giant Peach.  (Sorry for the poor image quality, it won't fit on my scanner) It was actually a toss-up between this and The Witches, but there's no way I could interpret The Witches without being influence by Quentin Blake's fabulous illustrations.

 

It's been some time since I've read JGP, and since I couldn't find my copy anywhere to reference a scene, I decided to show James and the insects enjoying another classic book: Charlotte's Web as their peach glides through the sky.

*update: Here's a closer look. I scanned it even though it was chopped up.

Priscilla ~ Classic Favorite

Delighted today to share an image inspired by one of my most favorite classic stories ~ 

those of Laura Ingalls Wilder 

"Stores for her would always mean candy - not the brown or golden stuff of patty pans and sugaring-off time, but exotic flavors like horehound; exotic shapes like canes and ribbons; and all colors of the rainbow in stripes and flowers." ~ from The Little House Cookbook (written by Barbara M. Walker)

Sketch Interview: Casey Girard

Thank you Casey! 

Visit Casey's blog here and her portfolio here.

Autumn Leaves

When I think of Autumn, I think of a song my dad used to make us sing when my sister and I were small. I don't remember the name of the song or if it was even a real song. It went like this...

"Autumn leaves now are falling, red and yellow and brown. Autumn leaves now are falling see them touching the ground. La la la la, la la la, la la la la, la la,..."

Anyway, you get the idea. I don't remember the rest of the words or even if there were more. I guess I'll have to ask my dad next time I see him :o)

I wish it was Fall weather in CA right now. It's just way too darn hot!

Thanks for dropping by!
-Joy